Weekend Preview: Pre-Game Festivities

It’s the last week before Harvard-Yale, and plenty of teams are taking on Ivy competition in conference matches to prepare for the big event.

The football team hits the road again this week against Penn tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in its sixth conference matchup. Last week, Harvard extended its win streak to three, defeating Columbia, 23-7. Chances are good that the Crimson can continue its winning ways. The squad holds a 45-33-2 record over the Quakers and has won four of the past six meetings.

The men’s soccer team also travels to the City of Brotherly Love to finish its season tomorrow. It’s been a rough year for the men—falling from last season’s 14-4-1 record to 4-7-5—but the squad looks to cap off the season on a positive note. The Crimson holds a slight advantage over Penn going into the matchup. Harvard has won two of the last three games, including a 1-0 victory at home last season.

The women’s volleyball team stays home to wrap up its regular season against Penn and Princeton tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. at the MAC. The women have also seen a drop in performance compared to last year, going from 12-13 to 8-16. The Quakers come into the matchup fresh off two victories against Columbia and Cornell, and the Tigers have a 13-9 record arriving in Cambridge. Earlier in the season, the Crimson dropped both of its matches to Penn and Princeton.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams both kick off their years tomorrow. After a successful 21-8 record last season, the men head down to George Mason to kick off another campaign at 4 p.m. The two squads have never met on the court before. Meanwhile, the women head up to Maine for their season opener at noon. Almost identical to the men’s record, the squad crushed the competition last year, going 20-9. The Crimson is behind 4-6 in the overall series, but has earned victories in the last three games against Maine.

The men’s and women’s ice hockey teams also recently started their seasons and continue on the road this weekend. The men’s squad split its opening matches at home last weekend, with a 2-1 loss to Union and a 1-0 victory over Rensselaer. The men take on St. Lawrence tonight at 7 p.m. and Clarkson tomorrow night at the same time. The women, currently 2-1-1, travel to Quinnipiac and Princeton tonight and tomorrow afternoon, after splitting its first road games last weekend.

Finally, there are some big tournaments happening this weekend for the Crimson. The cross country team heads to Connecticut for the NCAA Regionals tomorrow afternoon. The women’s fencing squad starts off the year by competing at the Penn State Open. The wrestling team also kicks off hits the mat at the Binghamton Open on Sunday. And last but not least, the women’s lightweight and heavyweight crew squads take on competition at the annual Foot of the Charles.